Ward began his career with his local club Wrexham in North Wales, before moving to Anfield in January 2012.

He has represented the club at U21 level for the last three and a half years with Michael Beale’s talented youth selection, and has demonstrated his consistency and composure between the sticks in the junior leagues.

Earlier in his career, the stopper featured on loan at Tamworth, while he enjoyed a one-month spell at League Two outfit Morecambe earlier in this season, making five appearances as Jim Bentley’s side secured an 11th-placed finish in League Two.

The talented stopper has also represented his nation at various youth levels. He featured for both of Wales’s U17 and the U19 sides, and graduated to the U21s in 2012.

He was named in Brendan Rodgers’s senior squad on several occasions towards the end of the 2014-15 season, prompting hope that the former Dragon can one day break into Liverpool’s starting XI.

The identity of Liverpool’s No. 1 stopper remains something of a mystery ahead of the season.

Adam Bogdan has arrived on a free transfer from Bolton Wanderers after coming to the end of his contract with the Trotters [The Guardian], although he is primarily being considered as a backup option to Simon Mignolet.

Rodgers may well seek an upgrade on the Belgian, with Mignolet having once again revealed some of his weaknesses between the sticks for the North-West giants last season.

Long-serving backup Brad Jones has also been released from his contract, leaving a potential vacuum on the bench for the Merseyside heavyweights.